Better, Faster, Stronger
by JazzylovesTransformers
Summary: Dimension hopping could be considered a tricky business. Starscream/OC.
1. Chapter 1

The wind shifted through the trees, rustling the leaves and disturbing the array of birds, chorusing away in their harsh, mismatching melodies. It was a warm breeze, one that would bring very little relief to brave insects who were battling the jungle just for a bit of "adventure." It, however, bothered the Transformer not. Similarly, as the sun beat down through the canopy of trees, making the humid air just that more unbearable for the native life, the Transformer still felt unaffected. Most life had long since sought shelter in bushes, holes or under logs. These kinds of heats, a Transformer was made for. The smeltering pits of Kaon was proof enough that they could last borderline extreme temperatures, and not suffer any setbacks. Only fleshbags with their squishable little meat suits were so vulnerable to such small shifts in weather. One of the most vulnerable species the Transformer had ever seen, in fact. Why the Autobot leader would want to protect them so valiantly was beyond the winged femme.

She huffed, stepping over a fallen log and simulatneously swatting aside a branch that stuck out in her way, knocking it clean off and sending it tumbling to the ground. The crash caused the surrounding birds to take off in a frenzed whirlwhind of feathers and panicked bodies, screeching obscenities as they left. As far as the Transformer was worth, it was good riddance. She didn't understand how humans could consider their nature "beautiful," especially this part. The constant chanting of birds was simply obnoxious; their songs out of time and failing to blend with eachother, resulting in a harsh lullaby that sounded more like they were having a screeching competition than performing any "birdsong" that humans seemed to adore so much. If she could, she would be any where but here, but that was out of the question.

For many neutrals, life was hard.

Shadowfang well knew this, as she had spent many centuries floating around having to watch her back from all three sides. Three, because most other neutrals, as few as they were, were highly suspicious and shot anything on sight. It made it hard, when everyone was your enemy, and your only possible allies turned against you without a second thought. Handling an overgrown, Earthling forest was nothing compared to the horrors of space. At least here she could hear her attackers coming.

Many Autobots took mercy on neutrals, that was true, accepting their position instead of brutally slaughtering as the Decepticons had done. But for Shadowfang, considering the fact she had formerly BEEN an Autobot before they had exiled her, she knew there would be no refuge amongst Prime's soldiers on Earth. To add insult to injury, she had actually been in a relationship with the leader when she suddenly took it upon herself to murder the other 2 Autobots she had been out scouting with, as well as another 3 or 4 who had been close by. There was definitely, without a doubt, no way they would even consider helping her. After she had made her escape, she was certain they thought of her as some Decepticon spy, and assumed she was back within their ranks now. If she turned up now claiming to be neutral, not only would they have their very severe doubts, but there was also no logical reason for them to protect someone who murdered their own soldiers of their own free will.

She guessed Optimus took their relationship as a ploy by Megatron to emotionally crush him. It hadn't been, but Shadowfang couldn't help but find his gentleness and kindness somewhat boring. Leaving him hadn't exactly been difficult, especially with talk of Elita-1 arriving, who everyone well knew worshiped the ground he walked on. When news reached her that they appeared to be heading for a relationship together, the femme hadn't been in the slightest surprised.

Life was getting easier, though. Or could be, if all went according to plan today. "According to plan" meaning that Starscream didn't laugh in her face and blow her head off, as she was sure he was prone to doing when dealing with neutrals. She had encountered the Decepticon forces the other day; or not so much encountered as stumbled upon one of their Autobot slaves injured and dying in her part of the jungle, clutching a Decepticon youngling to her chestplate. Shadowfang hadn't exactly needed to think much about where that youngling had come from, or what the slaves purpose had been, though she would really rather have not thought about it at all- especially with the knowledge that if the Decepticons didn't kill her, then they could well kidnap her and put her to the same use if they still desired more of their little mini-me's.

Though the purpose of having said mini-me's somewhat escaped Shadowfang, but who was she to question their former Lord High Protector?

She had done her best to care and watch over both of them whilst deciding what to do, and how to return them to the Decepticon faction- if they were even still wanted there. It had been while she was pondering that she'd heard the roar of jet engines, and realised much too late that that same jet was approaching all too quickly and flying far too low to ever be a human, unless the insect had severe psychological problems and a death wish. She had attempted a quick transformation of her own, but if memory served (which it did) that had not gone down so well.

_Her spark flailed in it's chamber, panic beginning to course through her systems as the first realisation dawned on her: there was a Decepticon approaching. The roar of jets filled the forest and sent the vibrantly coloured-birds scattering, squawking their disapproval at the foreign object. Pure instinct took over, and Shadowfang did the first smart thing she'd done all day- she abandoned the femme and the youngling. Gears shifted and metal scraped on metal as she transformed into her jet mode, leaping up and making to boost into the sky. It was a flawless escape plan, bar one thing._

_Starscream was right on top of her._

_He was easy to recognise, right from his master aerobatics down to his flawless transformation. As she transformed into her jet mode and went up, he transformed into his bipedal mode and came down, latching on to her wings as he went and throwing her into the ground below him. One wing clipped a branch on the way down, spinning her off course and throwing her into another patch of densely clumped trees. She transformed back into her robot form just in time to impact with the sturdy wood, the force that Starscream had thrown her with causing her to continue her crash course straight through the trees for a decent amount of meters, before slowing her descent by sliding across the ground and getting a faceful of dirt and mud and other unknown substances she would preferably not ponder on. She heard the Air Commander land close by, and for the sake of her own spark quickly tried to regain her bearings in order to put up a small fight that would hopefully end up with her getting another chance at escaping._

_She made to roll over and onto her feet in order to get into the correct battle stance, but Starscream didn't give her a chance for even a second. His pede slammed into one of her wings, crushing the metal and effectively pinning her to the ground. Every peice of circuitry hurt like a mother fucker when it was crushed, but anyone with half a functioning processor knew that wings were the absolute worst. Shadowfang snarled and writhed, though it did nothing other than cause more pain. A smooth chuckle was heard above her, and she sensibly stilled herself in order to look up at her assailant. Starscream stood over her, a smug and gloating look upon his facplate, missile launcher pointed directly at her own head. __And that was when the second realisation dawned: she was going to die. _

_He knew exactly who she was. She'd encountered him many times before the war, when her and Optimus had only just begun to get involved with eachother. The look on his faceplate moreorless said it all. He was about to kill the former mate of Optimus Prime. And then gloat about it to everybody, whether they wanted to hear about it or not._

_"Any final words, Autobot?" he sneered, pede digging into her wing harder, malicious glee written all over his face._

_"Other than the fact I'm not an Autobot?" she grumbled in reply, glaring at him as if the suggestion had offended her (which, in some ways, it had- but not enough to earn him a real glare)._

_Starscream arched an optic ridge this time, and there was no mistaking the curious glint in his optics. Unfortunately, there was also no mistaking the overpoweringly suspicious one. Anyone knew the Second-in-Command did not take the idea of being taken as a fool very well, and if he concluded that this was but an attempt to deceive him- it could end very, very badly for the femme. _

_In the back of her mind, she made a mental note to watch her words and tone if she wanted any hope of getting out of this ordeal alive. She recognised an opportunity for survival, but even she knew it was frighteningly small. Just because she claimed she wasn't an Autobot wasn't enough to strike her off the hit list; she was still a neutral, which Megatron himself had declared to be equally as bad. If she wanted to beat the odds, she had to think up a legitimate reason as to why she was more useful to the Decepticon Second-in-Command alive than dead. Which normally wouldn't be a problem, considering her strict upbringing and her having ample experience in bullshitting her way out of things, except there was a difference between sneaking in a window and having a missile launcher aimed directly at your face; she had less time to think about it._

_Her third and final realisation: here, she had a chance._

_"You really expect me to believe that?" Starscream snorted in disgust, lip curling back to reveal pointed fangs, and he stamped on her wing for emphasis. Shadowfang hissed in pain, but Starscream ignored it and powered on regardless, "Prime's ex-mate just up and left the Autobots after being his loyal_ bitch _for so long? What was wrong, hm? Jealousy drive you away? That other wench take your place and you couldn't bear the pain of watching them together?"_

_He was mocking her. It was a plain, obvious, fact that was supported by the cruel and angered sneer upon his faceplate. But there was also faith in his words, that Starscream believed what he was saying. Rage coiled in the pit of Shadowfang's stomach at his accusations; mostly because they were far from the truth, but also partly because the allegations wounded her ego. She hadn't left for some pathetic emotional-turmoil reasons! She certainly hadn't left because of the whore who had been puppying around after her mate for centuries._ _The very notion that anyone could think of her as just another pitiful, feeling-driven femme made her want to rip off Starscream's head and shove it up his aft pipe, particularly considering it was EXACTLY what she had suspected people of thinking once they "put-two-and-two together." They weren't putting shit together. They were making assumptions. The wrong ones. And it made the femme mad._

_"Were you _there _when I was exiled you malfunctioning peice of scrap?" she snarled in return, also revealing her smaller, somewhat blunter fangs in kind._

_Starscream's optics narrowed at the insult, and for an instant a sense of horror dawned on her as she realised her losing her cool may have just sealed her fate. What patience would Starscream possibly have for her now, when she treated him with little to no respect? Her processor shifted itself into panic mode, desperately searching for a way to rectify the mess she had just thrown herself headfirst into. Each idea, unfortunately, just ended up being more ridiculous than the last._

Slow down, slow down, slow down. Think. Starscream likes power. Power comes from respect.

_"Sorry," she gritted out, casting her optics towards the ground, huffing in annoyance as her ego took yet another blow. _

_Somewhere in the back of her mind, she vaguely wondered if this was the sort of crap that Megatron put Starscream through on a daily basis; giving his ego a constant, brutal, and without-a-doubt painfully thorough beating._

_The apology seemed to take Starscream slightly offguard, but the optics remained suspiciously narrowed, alerting her that she clearly wasn't out of the woods just for some nice words. Feeling the need to press on before she lost her power over his surprise, Shadowfang continued,_

_"I was exiled back on Cybertron, near the ending days, much time BEFORE Elita-1 showed up on base site. I had lost faith in Optimus's cause, rebelled, got branded a traitor at the very least and a Decepticon spy at the very most, and was kicked out of their ranks."_

_"Why didn't they just kill you."_

_The question came out as much as a question as it did a statement, coming out sharply as well; right after she had finished speaking. It was an indication that Starscream had been pondering this while she was speaking, perhaps even some time before that. To be fair, it was quite a good question, and she found herself surprised she hadn't thought of it before. Why HADN'T they just killed her? Eager to rise to the challenge of pleasing him and hopefully escaping with her life, Shadowfang racked her processors for the peice of information; a peice of information she was not certain that she held. It was a rather valid question. She had killed 5 of them- what was so hard about killing one of her? It was purely illogical to let a Decepticon spy run free, which was what many of them had accused and/or assumed her to be._

_Speaking slowly so as not to trip up, Shadowfang continued on, wording her next sentences carefully._

_"I'm not so sure of the answer to that. Perhaps it was the fact I was part of a trine. Perhaps it was the emotional connection with Prime. Perhaps they would rather me out of sight and mind, than have to deal with the large emotional impact my death would cause at least three of their comrades- one of them being their leader- in such crucial days of the war. I assume my exile was a temporary fix that would hopefully not turn into a long term problem."_

_Starscream's optics glanced over his surroundings, not in a way that was taking in his environment, but more in a considering way that showed he was contemplating her words. They must have been acceptable enough, which the femme could only assume due to the fact a missile still hadn't been put through her head and he continued on with asking her questions._

_"And you never once thought to join the Decepticon cause."_

_Now the reply to that, Shadowfang knew._

_"I hardly thought I could just show up on your doorstep and expect to be welcomed in with open arms."_

Today Starscream had offered her a chance to prove her use to the Decepticon forces as a neutral who also served as a Decepticon sympathiser. The only downside was she didn't think her neutral status would last very long after this. The freedom, the lack of rules, no one bossing her around... it would be over after this. They wouldn't just let her walk free so easily, would they? If she could be a Decepticon sympathiser as a neutral, then in their optics she should have no problem joining their cause fully. And she couldn't exactly give today a half-assed attempt either; if she didn't prove her worth, then they were sure to bring an abrupt end to her pitiful existence. She had a feeling she knew how they wanted her to show off her "valuable skills" to them, too. She just hoped it wasn't against some large, lumbering grounder with more firepower than processors. As stupid as they were, they were an absolute bitch to fight.

Or even worse, a large, lumbering grounder _with _processors.

She stepped into the clearing her and Starscream had incidentally made the other day with their little scuffle, noting the embarrassing larger-than-life slide marks she had put into the ground, and the even larger indent where he had pinned her into the ground. The sound of birdsong was noticably lacking here, and she wasn't sure whether to put that down to the strange and unnatural presence of the Decepticon Air Commander, or the significantly reduced amount of trees in that particular area. The Decepticon in question was standing at the far end of the clearing, arms crossed impatiently and faceplate hard. Shadowfang raked her optics over the area, but was surprised to find that no one else was with him. She glanced behind her as well, suddenly suspicious of an ambush, but there was no sign of any abnormally large, metallic, out-of-place and undeniably foreign objects in the dense jungle.

Nevertheless, she slowed her pace, and fixed Starscream with a decidedly suspicious look.

"I thought you said you were testing me today."

"We are," he replied flatly, causing her wings to suddenly perk up in hyper awareness at the word "we," casting another glance around her surroundings just to be assured of her safety. "But not here."

"Where, then?"

The corners of Starscream's mouth twitched into a smug grin, "We have an audience with Lord Megatron."

And just like that, Shadowfang's spark and any hopes of making it out of this alive, plummeted.


	2. Chapter 2

Megatron was quite a sight to behold.

He had been deep in conversation with Soundwave and Shockwave when the pair had arrived at his small camp together; piles of junk all crowded into one place that did not look very befitting of a Decepticon leader. Hatchlings and younglings alike squawked and screeched at them as they had approached, cautiously in the case of Shadowfang, opening their hungry mouths for the energon they were expecting to receive. Angry chirping met them when nothing came from either her or Starscream, and she barely managed to suppress her grin. Perhaps it was just her femme coding, but the antics of young ones never failed to amuse her.

Megatron had turned to face them, the conversation he had previously been holding immediately dropping off as he set cruel crimson optics on Shadowfang. Time had made her forget just how large and powerful the mech was; a living, functioning war god. The way he held himself caused him to towered over the two mechs standing before him, even Shockwave, whom he was but a mere few inches taller than. His armour was thick but in the same sense perfectly angled and shaped to allow freedom of movement. Legends spoke of the power hidden beneath that armour; stories of him caving in an mech's chestplate with a single punch, or blowing another into fragments with a simple blast of his fusion cannon. Many of those stories were grossly over-exaggerated, but may have well been true nonetheless. She felt her armour crawl uncomfortably under his gaze, resisting the urge to shudder but finding herself incapable of holding his optics, redirecting her own gaze towards the ground.

Even with half his faceplate missing, the mech looked just as fearsome as before.

Starscream and Shadowfang now stood a hundred or so metres away from one another, poised and ready to commence their battle. The femme had been shattered to hear that she had to fight the _Air Commander _of all Decepticons, having hoped it would've been someone insignificant and easy to crush and show off against. The news had made her edgy and nervous, and she bounced on the balls of her pedes anxiously. Hopefully he wouldn't completely anhiliate her, and she'd get the chance to land in a few decent blows.

Megatron sat upon his throne of junk to the side, Soundwave and Shockwave standing on either side of him. Their presence merely made it that much worse for the former Autobot; knowing that she was to be judged by the entire high-ranking squadron of the Decepticon army. Opposite her, Starscream flexed his arms, an arrogant and vicious grin adorning his faceplate. There seemed to be no doubt in his mind that he was going to "own" her as the fleshies termed it, and she didn't doubt that he would for a second. Not only was she a femme, meaning she was significantly weaker, but she also hadn't got into a decent fight for quite some time AND it was against the Decepticon Second-in-Command. Despite what some idiots liked to believe, Starscream didn't get himself there through pure flattery. At least there was one thing to be grateful for, though-

She wasn't fighting Shockwave.

"Begin." Megatron growled lowly.

Shadowfang only had a moment to register what Megatron had said, before she realised Starscream was coming at her- fast.

His threw a punch at her head that only barely managed to skim the top of it as she dodged out of the way, aiming one of her own at his side on her way back up. It managed to hit it's mark, but seemed to have very little effect rather than making him growl low in his throat. With Shadowfang angled towards the side, the Seeker returned the blow, using the momentum of his turning body to slam his elbow joint into her collar bone, forcing her to her knees. A snarl ripped free of her this time, digging her pedes into the ground and launching herself forward into his legs, knocking him backwards and causing them both to go sprawling in the dust. Processor in overdrive, the femme knew she had to gain her bearings quickly in order to gain her advantage, and quickly moved up to put her knees on either side of Starscream and straddles his waist.

This time she was the one who aimed a punch at his faceplate, but her fist was caught and her arm twisted at an odd angle, Starscream throwing her off and behind him. She rolled a couple of times before using her momentum to spring herself into a crouch, sliding to a stop along the dusty earth. She was facing Starscream who was now on his pedes also, and the two immediately lunged for one another again. Starscream's next punch hit her square in the abdomen, temporarily winding her, his momentum once again aiding him in giving an extra amount of force behind it. Whilst she was temporarily dazed he landed two more blows on her upper body, and made another attempt at hitting her in the side of the head. Shadowfang, trying her best to focus, caught his hand and brought her other one around to return the blow to his own head, all in one fluid movement. Whilst he himself was slightly dazed (or maybe he was just surprised she had managed it), she brought up her pede to kick him in the chestplate, knocking him back some and giving her time to properly recover from her winding. Starscream himself recovered quickly from the blows she had managed to pull off, and it was then that Shadowfang was one hundrer per cent certain she didn't particularly have the strength required to properly confuse the guy enough to end the battle.

She however knew she couldn't get hit; _especially _in the head. One blow like that from Starscream and she would be dazed enough that it would be game over for her.

The pair backed away from eachother to give themselves space for the next attacks, eyeing eachother up, optics narrowed and bodies tense as they circled one another as an Earth animal would a peice of prey. They made another move, running at full speed, both as determined to win as the other. When she was a suitable distance away, Shadowfang leapt a fair height into the sky, switching her arm blades out and coming back down to aim a punch right on top of Starscream's head. Her weight and the height she had leapt at combined meant there was a fair amount of force behind the hit, enough to bring Starscream to the ground. She used his falling body to push off and land heavily on the ground next to him in a crouch, spinning around and leaping at him while he was down in order to get another good hit in.

Starscream was prepared for her this time, though. He brought up an arm and knocked her off course, sending her rolling in the dirt yet again, facedown. She rolled over in time to see the Seeker lunge for her, and she brought up her arm blades to block and protect her faceplate from any blow that might be landed, bringing up her legs at the same time to kick Starscream straight over her. She leapt onto her pedes and turned around to watch Starscream convert his lunge into a forward roll, ending up in a crouch and facing the femme. He didn't pause for a second and made another lunge that she wasn't prepared for, barely managing to dodge to the side and out of his way. Unfortunately, it seemed to be exactly what the Decepticon Second-in-Command was expecting her to do. He caught her wing on his way past, yanking her backwards and pulling her down on top of him. His legs snaked around hers and his pedes hooked into the back of them, effectively keeping her pinned to the ground from the waist down while his left arm put her into a headlock. She scrambled at his head behind her, but even then she knew it was utterly useless. His right hand came down with a crushing punch to the side of her head, and static blocked her vision.

She squeezed her optics shut, the blow rattling her processor and thoughts, when he landed another one and fucked her over again. She attempted to uselessly thrash in his grip to try and throw off his punches, if only to buy her some time, and it was then an idea occured to her; a way in which she had accidentally hurt Optimus all the time. Digging her heels into the ground, Shadowfang lifted her waist off of Starscream's, before bringing it crashing back down right into his cod peice. Starscream snarled like an angry cat at the contact, and she quickly took the opportunity to deal a hard elbow into his side, causing his grip to loosen. Rolling off him, the femme leapt to her pedes and quickly backed away, shaking her helm to try and rid herself of the daze Starscream had put her in. When she opened up her optics, she found Starscream was rushing at her, and she swiftly dropped to the ground and kicked his pedes out from underneath him. He was on to her, however, and she had a feelign he was more than tired of sparring with her. He leapt up and brought his closed fist down onto her shoulder in a hard punch, before using his other fist to slam right underneath her chin in an uppercut. The femme flew backwards, sliding across the ground along her back, and this time it was Starscream lunging for her downed body.

She quickly rolled out of the way so he wouldn't land directly on top of her, but it did little to deter him as he simply kicked her in the side and sent her a couple of more metres. Shadowfang cursed under her breath, well aware she was now looking to be made a fool, optics fixing on Starscream's fast approaching body. This time when he made to lunge for her, she twisted herself around so that she was facing the opposite way she had been, and kicked Starscream in the back on his way past. He landed face-first in the dirt, rolling over and to the side as he watched Shadowfang charge him. He kicked her pedes from underneath her, sending her sprawling on top of him, hooked his pedes into the back of her legs and rolled them over so that their positions were swapped.

By this time, Shadowfang was somewhat disappointed that this wasn't a death match. She had many close range weapons she could've put into effect during the battle, though she had a feeling it was very much the same for Starscream, and if it had been so she wouldn't have lasted half as long as she had done currently. He punched her in the head again, but this time she was braced and starting to become accustomed to the vicious blows, even though they were still packing a lot of strength behind them. She brought her arm blades up to shield her head from the punches that were now raining down on her, and used them to take a slice at his arms. He hissed, and whilst he was distracted she kicked him off of her, springing lightly to her pedes and away from him. He got to his pedes also, whilst the femme was breathing hard some distance away, the length and the brutality of the fight quickly draining her energy and strength. Nonetheless, it made her all the more determined to finish the fight quickly. Shadowfang rolled on the balls of her pedes, optics narrowed, before rushing at him again.

Starscream made to meet her with a hard punch, but by now Shadowfang knew better than to expect her charging at him was actually going to accomplish anything. She flipped over to land on her servos, using them to flip up and over him and land behind him, twisting in midair so that she would be facing him when she came down. The Seeker hissed in frustration and spun around, but she met him with a kick to the faceplate. Rage flashed across Starscream's faceplate as he stumbled backwards, and as she threw another punch at him he caught her fist, much like he had done at the beginning. His free hand punched her in the faceplate, followed by a hurricane of more punches aimed at her stomach, face, face, chest. Shadowfang stumbled backwards, the world spinning around her, when a particularly hard punch sent her tumbling backwards into the dirt. She caught herself in a crouching position by stretching out a servo, but Starscream was quick to deal to that. He kicked her in the side, causing her to land face-down.

The femme was struggling to regain her bearings, her processor screaming at her to stand up and fight, but her body refusing to move or respond to orders properly. She felt Starscream's knee dig into her back, pinning her to the ground, two servos grabbing on to her wings and simply _pulling _like he aimed to rip them clean off her back.

"Yield." he demanded, a slight snarl in his voice.

Shadowfang struggled for a few more useless moments, before she finally determined her position useless, and herself defeated.

"I yield," she gritted out, determined not to cry out as Starscream gave a particularly harsh yank on her wings.

She heard him smirk behind her, letting her wings go and allowing them to drop back into their normal place, climbing off her to stand to the side and give Megatron a clear view. As exhausted as she was, the femme forced herself to her pedes, looking up to see the Decepticon leader watching her with an unreadable expression. Starscream was looking as smug as ever, and she couldn't exactly blame him. No matter who you were fighting, you always did get a rush of triumph every time you defeated somebody, _especially _when they gave up of their own free will. Shadowfang had learnt this from many sparring matches when she was younger, challenging younglings of similar ages to matches in back alleyways and abandoned streets. Those two simple words of 'I yield,' could give a Transformer a greater rush than any other. Could she begrudge him that?

It seemed like an eternity had passed before Megatron finally spoke, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"You come from a family of assassin's."

It was more of a statement than a question, but Shadowfang gave a single nod of her head anyway as confirmation of her words. In reality she came from a family of many things, but the assassin coding was the coding she had recieved. This coding was actually one of the reasons for her naming; she was coined with "Shadowfang" due to her tendency to attack from the shadows, and to do so viciously. Or perhaps the fang part came from how she used to bite everyone when she was little. Who knew? She didn't dare question how Megatron knew of her ancestry for fear of speaking out of place, but his observational skills still spiked her curiousity regardless.

Megatron made a contemplative noise, whilst Shockwave seemed to observe her with renewed interest. Shadowfang tried to ignore the one-opticked mech, feeling slightly uneasy by his intense and searching stare, as if it was somehow capable of uncovering things within her he didn't need to know- and perhaps even things Shadowfang was unaware of herself. She was got the feeling that if she didn't get the acceptance of the Decepticons that day, then her corpse would undoubtedly end up in his servos to be sliced up and intensively examined. The thought alone disturbed her, even moreso when she wondered how many had actually suffered a similar fate to the one she was imagining.

"How did you end up being exiled from the Autobot forces?"

Everything he said sounded more like a demand than a question, and Shadowfang got the feeling he wouldn't accept the simple "I rebelled" answer that she had given Starscream the other day. She hesitated for a brief second, unsure, but a quiet, impatient growl from Megatron signalled he had sensed her hesitation and was not willing to wait for her answer long. The femme swallowed thickly, doing her best to look him in the optics as she answered him.

"It was when I was going out on patrol with two of my fellow Autobots. I had lost faith in the Autobot cause quite some time ago; back when I realised I had no idea exactly what I was fighting for, and the more than half of the army had no idea either, but fought on because they had to save the world from the 'bad guys,' with no thought put towards the fact they were destroying Cybertron while blindly pursuing their own twisted ideals and fantasies of being superheros. The only reason that side continues is because of Optimus, and the faith and trust they put into him." Shadowfang barely refrained from rolling her optics, and tried to level out the disgust in her voice before she became too emotionally involved in what she was saying and started off on a big, long rant. "I ended up killing the two I was scouting with. Took off the first one's head by the surprise, and gained an advantage over the second one who was still partially in shock about what was occuring. A scout team closeby heard the commotion and came down to check out, so I killed them too, but not before one of them was able to comm. the Autobots at the nearest base. And then they exiled me."

Megatron took this in quietly, his faceplate still unreadable, which Shadowfang found frustrating. At least with Optimus she could look him in the optics and gain a basic understanding of what he was thinking. Megatron, on the other hand, was nothing but a clean, blank slate. Her spark had been whirring frantically in her chest since the moment she had heard that she was to fight in front of Megatron, and it was spinning at double that speed now. What was the Lord High Protector thinking? Was he going to kill her now that he got that information he wanted? Had her performance been satisfactory? Did the fact that she lost to his Second-in-Command pretty much seal the deal on her fate, or did that not matter so much to him? A billion of questions tumbled around in her processor, and she was desperate for answers to them all. Dear Primus, _w__hy _had she agreed to this?

Surely it would have been so much easier to make a run for it once Starscream had left? To jet far into the sky, and venture back into the great depths of space, as perilious as they were? She had a much greater chance of surviving out there than she ever did have of impressing the Decepticon leader, who surely already regarded her with scorn for her choice in mates.

"Soundwave tells of a group of Autobots who have recently arrived on Earth. Starscream, take her to them. And if she succeeds, she will be your partner, and apprentice. I would expect you to train her in the Decepticon ways."

Starscream gave a small indiginant snort, running a critical optic over Shadowfang, but otherwise gave a nod and bowed to Megatron, "As you wish, _Lord _Megatron."

Perhaps it was due to the wave of relief that had just crashed over her, perhaps she just found it genuinely amusing, but for some reason Shadowfang found herself trying her best not to smile at the slightly mocking tone Starscream used. Instead, she made a quick attempt of covering it up by transforming and following after the swiftly departing Seeker, who was already rocketing away in his alt. form.

Nice of him to wait.

* * *

The Earthling city that Starscream led Shadowfang to was located in some region called Canada; one of the many places Shadowfang had never dared to venture before. In fact, she had never once even dared to move very far away from her isolated jungle, where the only living organisms that bothered her there were the multitude of small Earth creatures that either regarded her as a giant, frightening monster, or wanted to annoy her with their singing. At least now she could shoot the screeching little fuckers, without having to worry about burning down her new "home."

Starscream landed directly on top of a high building, bending down to grab the very edge of it and peer over the side. The femme transformed and joined him, looking a few streets over to see a line of expensive looking cars trying to look inconspicious in human traffic lights. However, the very fact that they were roaring their engines impatiently, and that she suspected all of their forms to cost probably millions of dollars and were all grouped together in one place and following one another, ended up making them look rather conspicious indeed. Nevertheless she glanced at Starscream for confirmation, and he gave a nod of his head. She didn't bother to suppress her grin, and went back to analysing and evaluating her newest competition.

"Recognise any of them?" Starscream asked, a slightly sarcastic edge to his voice.

Shadowfang still answered him regardless.

"Yeah. The Lamborghini Reventon. That's Ace; known for his speed and arrogance."

His open energon signal that was just screaming "Come kill me!" gave him away. The different energy signals every Transformer had was one of the ways that hatchlings identified who their parents were when they were younger, as well as who were strangers and who were familiars. It was also how Shadowfang picked up on the young Autobot's identity. The lack of cloaking devices on the four Autobots below was probably what caused Soundwave to pick up on their whereabouts in the first place, but Shadowfang assumed once they reached the Autobot base that would soon change. If they were even heading there. For all she knew, they could be heading to a different secret location. It didn't really matter when they were about to get blown sky high anyway.

Starscream didn't acknowledge her words, but she knew he had heard them regardless. His optics raked over the scene one final time, assessing the situation and their positions, before he addressed her again.

"You say you come from a family of assassin's, prove it. I'm flying in and bombing them to draw them out of their alt. forms. Take your opportunity then."

With that, Starscream leapt up and transformed, leaving Shadowfang upon the rooftop. She looked over the surrounding area, thinking about how hard it was to ambush a Transformer in such a small world, but also reassuring herself that she could make do. Instead of finding a discreet spot close to them where she was undoubtedly going to get caught, she stayed put, keeping an optic on Starscream who was now banking hard in order to line up with them and come at them head on.


End file.
